Miss Francy Makes Friends

It's crazy how different my kids are. Francesca, who seems to have taken on the nickname of "Francy", loves making friends. It's in her nature. First of all, she has built-in friends who happen to be her brothers. When they are at school she loves chasing Conrad around. When Conrad is napping she begs and begs me to play with a friend. She loves playing house, dress-up, my little pony, barbies, & dolls.

I think she is used to being surrounded by people, so that's where she is most comfortable.

Her BFF is definitly her grandma, my mom. He and my mom are so similar it's uncanny. From their petite size, to their feminine nature to their love of rolls and of playing in water, they are two peas in a pod. 

She is a lot like a sparker. ;)

I wanted to add that she also adores Justin's mom as well. 

I love this girlie girl of mine.

She makes me laugh and cry and smile all at the same time.

Francy's Rainbow Birthday Party

This little girl had a birthday.

Family members and friends came over to celebrate.

I made some rainbow brite treat bags.

Lots of delicious food was shared.

Francy's favorite babysitter even came.

We had fun in the newly remodeled family room.

She got lots of sweet adorable gifts. 

Including five pairs of shoes.

Lilian helped with the hand printing.

Erin and Frank, the newlyweds came even though they were newly-wed. ;)

Me and my dad threw together this rainbow brite cake last second.

Here are Francy's handprints.

At the end of the day she was so tired she fell asleep right in her highchair. (lol!)

Pretty Little Darlings

Lisa, Holly, & I tried to make a cute little backdrop for a little photo session for the girls. Sadly, the pics didn't turn out as well as I was hoping. I think I need a new camera.

Vegas, baby! Part 8

I actually found a store called Francesca's! And I went in and the store was totally "Francesca". All flowery and chic and darling little knick knacks and clothing. I wasn't able to bring Francesca into the store because she was asleep in the van with Justin.
All in all, Las Vegas was really fun. Lots of people told me I might see nudity and prostitutes and other offensive things, but I guess in a way I had prepared myself and so I knew what to avoid. So we really didn't see very many bad things. We mostly just went out in the daytime, then came back to our hotel at night. It pays to have a good attitude and optimistic outlook of Vegas. We were able to have a really neat trip by leaving the bad and looking for the good. I highly recommend it.
(End of Vegas blog posts.)

ONE!

Francy is one and we are so excited!!!!!!! Some of her cousins even climbed our tree in celebration.

the "sTUb"

Here are some pics of Francesca's little hand wrapped up in her soft cast, which we lovingly called her "stub."

She was such a trooper the whole time. I am proud to say her hand is looking great is healing very nicely. Yay!

Francy's First Ponytail!

She is growing up waaaaaay too fast! I also wanted to tell you about her hand. She touched the glass door of our fireplace and way burned pretty badly. I rushed her in to see the doctor and he said it was second-degree burns. So basically her entire palm and the inside of her fingers and thumb on her left hand were blistered. The doc Rx's some burn cream and he had to see her every day for about a week, then after that we had to change her soft cast like wrapping every night. She cried the entire time. It was sooo sad! But, after three and a half weeks at her 12-month checkup the doc gave his approval that she didn't need it wrapped anymore. She wa such a trooper. The bandage was even blue! They didn't have pink. It was a pretty traumatic experience for us all but I'm glad it wasn't worse, and the doc said she wouldn't have any scarring.
P.S. I'll be blogging about her first birthday asap.

Mark has a wife!

My beloved brother got married over the weekend. It was a beautiful sealing, entertaining luncheon, and grand reception. They are happy and in love and we are all bursting with excitement for them and their new life together. Three cheers for Mark & Holly!
Francesca looked just darling:

Check out the brides shoes!

And here are some other honorable mentions:

The Girl With 100 (er... 3) Dresses

I've really brought out my "Jennifer Trend" side the last few weeks. Here are some of my creations:

Exhibit A: "The Francy" This pink-toned dress with a tiny floral print was made bn my me without a pattern:

Exhibit B: "Floral Dream" My first attempt at using a baby dress pattern, which was actually much harder. Sleeves are much harder than they look, people. These sleeves were sewn on backwards. I'm just going to pretend I did that on purpose. I like this one because it falls all the way to the floor.

Exhibit B: "The Betty" This red and white checkerboard vintage fabric really is vintage fabric. A woman in my ward was giving away some her old fabric, and I got this, among a few other treasures. I used the pattern as a reference for this dress, along with some of my own ideas. And I actually sewed the sleeves on correctly!

Here are some recent milestones in Francesca's life:
-She has two teeth, both bottom
-She crawls occasionally,  mostly army-style, but I've seen her on her hands and knees a few times
-She thinks Michael and Wesley are hilarious, she will laugh and laugh until giving herself the hiccups
-She has lass than eight weeks until her first birthday!
-She has recently recoved from two double ear infections, back to back. We are so grateful she is all better.
-Just a few hours ago, while taking pictures of her in her new dress, she stood up for a few seconds all on her own! (first time ever!)
-She has a huge appetite, with lamb, beef, oatmeal, pears, carrots, and sweet potato puffs being her favorites.
-She is an awesome sleeper, thank goodness, usually sleeping from 8:00PM-7:00AM
-She brings such a sweet beautiful spirit into our lives, and our home. We can't imagine life without her!

Francesca's First Taste of Ice Cream

Yum!

Budding Fashionista

You'll never guess who made Francesca's skirt.

Yep, it was me! I got a new sewing machine for Christmas from my parents and I am so excited to create a whole bunch of pretty little things.

Francesca Betty is sooooo lucky to have her own personal designer, me, Jennifer Trend to design her clothing. Couture for an eight month old? Yep.